An Almost Perfect Day
by invalid-reality
Summary: It was almost a perfect day...before the whole world came crashing down in an instant...


The sun shone brightly through the partially drawn drapes, filling the room with the soft morning light. Buffy stirred as the sound of birds singing floated through the open window and the drapes billowed with the incoming breeze. With a smile upon her face, she turned on her side and opened her eyes to look at the love of her life laying next to her, still sound asleep.

She reached out, her fingertips touching the soft, tanned skin of her lover's bare back. She traced over the dips of her shoulder blades, smiling to herself when she felt her start to wake.

"Good morning, Faith," Buffy whispered as she placed a soft kiss on her shoulder.

"Morning," Faith mumbled sleepily and she rolled on to her back, smiling at Buffy as she stretched out languidly. "Come here," she whispered as she wrapped her arms around Buffy, pulling her close to her and she kissed her softly on the forehead. "I have a feeling today is gonna be a good day. How about you, B?"

"The best ever," Buffy replied, smiling as she leaned in to kiss Faith deeply, morning breath be damned. "So, I was just thinking…"

"Always thinking. That's my girl," Faith chuckled with a shake of her head. "About what, B?"

"There's the fact that we have a whole day off today…" She said quietly as she shifted until she was laying completely on top of Faith. "So, I was thinking that maybe we can just spend the whole day in bed?"

"The whole day, huh?" Faith chuckled as she smoothed her hands down Buffy's back slowly. "That'd definitely interfere with the plans I made for today."

"Plans?"

"With you, of course."

"What sort of plans?"

Faith grinned as she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. "I was gonna shoot for we'll spend the whole morning in bed, then go for a drive up to the beach for a few hours. Made reservations at Celli's since I know you've been dying to eat there for months now. Our reservation is for seven."

"You got a reservation? Celli's is always booked for months in advance, Faith!"

"Why do you think I booked it months ago, B?"

Buffy squealed happily before kissing her passionately, both of them moaning as Buffy slipped a thigh between Faith's legs as she ran her fingers through Faith's unruly long hair. She gasped as Faith gripped on to her right leg and hooked it over her waist tighter, both of them rolling their hips against each other's thighs as the kiss deepened.

The last two years had been the best years of Buffy's life. After years of yearly apocalypses, years of living in Rome and then Scotland and various other places along the way, she landed in Cleveland with Faith and the whole Scooby gang, finally planting roots down for the first time in nearly ten years. She and Faith finally reconciled and moved on, a feat that seemed impossible to think about before it had actually happened. Dating Faith had been an unexpected event too, but it was Buffy that'd made the first move, it'd been Buffy that kissed Faith on patrol one night and one thing led another and that led to them being where they were now; happily in love and living together, sharing a life not just as slayers, but as lovers.

And Buffy was more certain than anything else that she wouldn't have it any other way.

Faith was everything she ever needed, everything she ever wanted and never, not once before, did she ever expect to find it in her. Despite some of their differences, it just worked between them. They fought, they loved, and they were inseparable. They spent almost every Sunday afternoon with Dawn, Willow and Kennedy watching old movies and sipping margaritas and beer, whatever movie that was playing always forgotten as they let loose, talked and laughed about nothing and everything at once. It was all the small little moments that added up to meant the most and the fact that Faith was such a big part of her life, that meant everything to her and beyond.

Faith pulled back from the kiss first, a smile curled over her lips as she just stared into Buffy's eyes. "I love you, Buffy. Sometimes it feels like I don't tell you that enough."

"You tell me every day."

"Feels like it's not enough."

"It is," Buffy smiled at her and she kissed her softly. "Even if you didn't tell me every day that you love me, I just feel it. Every moment. Every look. Every touch."

Faith sighed happily as she pulled Buffy in for another kiss. This was perfect, the perfect morning, the perfect moment, with the birds singing, the sun shining in, the breeze blowing through the open window ever so gently.

Buffy pulled Faith as she rolled on to her back. They both smiled against one another's lips as Faith rolled her hips down against Buffy's before settling her lower body between Buffy's spread thighs. The warmth of the breeze flowing in, signaling yet another warm July day.

She focused on the feel of Faith's body, of Faith's lips, the feel of her hand as it trailed down her body and between her legs, fingers teasing her, a prelude of things to come. Her own hands, wandering, following the delicious flow of curves, over the ridges of her toned body, finding those spots that were always so soft, so warm, so inviting no matter how many times her fingertips or lips explored over them.

Barely a month and a half ago they'd celebrated their two years together as a couple, as lovers, as partners. It'd been low-key, Faith took her out for dinner and they spent the better part of the entire night until sunrise making love. Another perfect day. One that Buffy thought about often.

Every day with Faith was a perfect day, even the days where they fought. Those days always ended with them making up, ended up with them in a good place, whatever they'd been fighting about long forgotten in the wave of kisses, of touches, of words of love and all the little things in between.

"Always thinking," Faith chuckled softly as her eyes penetrated Buffy's gaze. "What about now, B?"

"Just you."

"Me?"

"Always you."

Faith smiled again and leaned in to kiss her, the kiss itself slow and deep and full of the passion that flowed between them day after day. It was in that moment that Buffy made her decision, she made her choice with something she'd been thinking about for months. Tonight, after their afternoon at the beach and dinner at Celli's, she was going to ask Faith to marry her.

And she already knew what the answer would be because, with unspoken words, Faith had already given her her heart. Faith was hers. Forever.

Buffy closed her eyes tighter as Faith's fingers continue to tease her, her touches becoming more insistent with every passing second. She felt Faith's smirk against her lips as they continued to share a deeply passionate kiss and when Faith pulled back, she forced her eyes to open and stared into Faith's just mere inches away.

She could see, just from staring into Faith's eyes, the love and the lust that Faith felt for her. It was almost mesmerizing and she was lost in the moment they were sharing, lost in Faith's eyes and the love she could feel that filled her all over.

It was a feeling she could never get enough of and never wanted that feeling to ever end.

Faith leaned in and nuzzled her nose against Buffy's, her hot breath coming out in soft, small bursts as she deftly slid a single finger inside of Buffy's hot, tight pussy. Waves of pleasure rolled through her body as she moved her hands to cup Faith's head, cradling it as they pressed their foreheads together, their lips only a breath apart, barely touching, just feeling, just becoming lost within each other.

The teasing touches became more insistent as Faith slipped a second finger inside of her, her palm rubbing against her throbbing clit, delivering such delicious pleasure that flowed freely through her body. Her body shook as the waves of pleasure became more intense. Her back arched up into Faith's body, her hips rolling against her hand. Her own fingers slipped through Faith's hair and she pulled her in for another deep kiss that made her whole body grow numb with pure bliss.

Cries of pleasure filled the otherwise quiet room and she didn't hold back, she just let her orgasm take her by force. Faith's lips were on hers, just for a brief moment, before she trailed soft, feather light kisses down her neck and across her collarbone. Her fingers, still buried inside of her and unmoving, feeling her orgasm as it continued, holding on to that pleasure she was feeling almost quite literally.

As Faith's lips wrapped around a hardening nipple, she slipped her hands out from the confines of Faith's unruly hair and gripped at the soft sheets on the bed. She gasped as she opened her eyes and looked down at Faith, watching her as she continued her pleasurable assault with her tongue, teasing, tasting. Her lips trailed to her left breast and she nipped at the skin before sucking and biting at her hard, aching nipple. She wasn't just sensitive in one area, it was every inch of her body when it came to Faith and it was Faith who knew every spot to touch, every inch of skin that craved the feel of her lips and tongue.

"Faith…" Buffy moaned out softly and she felt the soft vibrations from Faith's lips as she moaned at the sound of her name.

Faith unhurriedly continued on her descent down Buffy's body, licking a straight line down her flat stomach all the way down to her hips. All the while, Buffy couldn't take her eyes off of Faith, watching her as she had her eyes closed, her body humming with pleasure with every taste of her she took.

Faith placed a single, soft kiss just above her closely cropped pubic hair before spreading Buffy's legs further and settling down between them, her lips already finding their way to her inner thighs, her fingers, still buried inside of her, still unmoving. Buffy rolled her hips, encouraging Faith to move her fingers just a little, drawing out more pleasure from deep inside.

Slowly Faith slid her fingers out from inside of her and she watched as Faith licked over her lips, her fingers just lightly touching her, circling over her still throbbing clit, taking in the sight of her completely.

With the first touch of her tongue, Buffy threw her head back and cried out in pleasure. Every time with Faith felt like the first time all over again and it was a feeling that never faded, not even after two years together.

Faith moaned and the vibrations that came from her lips was almost enough to send Buffy spiraling again. Her tongue slid inside of her, tasting her, filling her. Her back arched off the bed as she gripped on to the soft sheets tighter. She felt so hyper-sensitive and every touch sent her body flying, the pleasure growing with every second, her orgasm building quickly.

Right as she was at the edge, Faith stopped, her breath spilling over her lips and onto heated flesh only made Buffy whimper at the loss of her mouth on her cunt. Faith crawled up her body slowly, her lips placing soft, wet kisses here and there. She lowered herself down on to Buffy, rolling her hips down against hers and they both cried out into the quiet of the room at the intimate touch and feel of each other.

"Not yet," Faith whispered, kissing her over and over as they moved in perfect rhythm together.

"Faith…"

"Fuck," Faith groaned as her body twitched and Buffy knew she was close. "Don't let go without me."

Buffy held on, her vision swimming as she tried to hold back, just teetering on the edge. It was always explosive when they came together and it always felt as if they were one in those moments afterwards.

She ran her nails down Faith's back, fingers teasing, grasping as she felt the muscles under her fingertips tighten. As Faith slammed her pussy against hers one last time, she couldn't hold back any longer. Faith's lips met hers as they came together, grasping and holding on to each other, kissing deeply with everything they had, gasping as they shared and became lost in an intensely erotic moment.

"God, I love you, Faith," Buffy whispered as Faith relaxed and lay fully on top of her.

"I love you too, B," she whispered and she leaned back just a little to smile at her. "I love you more than anything else in this world. You are everything to me."

"Yeah? Everything?"

"Mmhmm."

"So, you're telling me you love me more than your favorite knife that you never leave the house without?"

"Uh…"

"And you're telling me that you love me more than the boots you refuse to throw out because they've been through a lot of battles?"

"B, those are legendary boots!"

"They stink and the insides are all torn up and you complained the last time you wore them that your feet hurt!"

"Doesn't mean I don't love them any less."

"More than me?"

Faith laughed and she tenderly stroked Buffy's cheek. "Told you that I love you more than anything else in the world, didn't I? More than those boots, maybe not more than that knife."

"I bought you that knife!"

"You know we really oughta work on our pillow talk."

"What's wrong with our pillow talk?" Buffy asked with a teasing smile.

"Nothing, B," Faith grinned. "It's perfect. It's you and me."

And Buffy knew that for sure she was going to ask Faith to marry her, because she couldn't imagine the rest of her life or mornings like that without her…

* * *

Stuffed from a delicious dinner, Buffy intertwined her fingers with Faith's as they walked down the busy street together to where Faith had parked her Jeep. It was a bit of a walk, but neither seemed to be in any kind of a hurry to get there. After a long afternoon at the beach, dinner at Celli's had just topped off the perfect day they had shared together.

"I doubt I'll ever be able to eat pasta from anywhere else but there for the rest of my life. God, it was so good, B."

"The best."

"Now I see why you wanted to go there so badly," Faith chuckled and she squeezed Buffy's hand gently. "You wanna go home or maybe go dancing?"

"I can barely even walk right now, much less dance."

"Home, then?" Faith asked and Buffy just nodded her head and patted her full stomach.

She took a moment just to really look at Faith as they walked down the busy sidewalk, taking a moment to see just how beautiful she truly was. And it made her nervous, so completely nervous about what she was going to do as soon as they got back to the Jeep. Which was why she was in no hurry, the nerves were building up and she needed time. Time to have a personal talk with herself in her head, to calm herself down despite the biggest moment of her life quickly approaching. Time to really soak in this perfect moment even if it was just the two of them walking down the busy downtown street, hand in hand, bellies full from a delicious dinner and the rest of her life just waiting for her, for both of them.

They were silent the rest of the walk to the Jeep and after Faith opened the door for her and she climbed in, she quickly took the ring out of her pocket, her nerves suddenly disappearing as if they weren't there at all to begin with. All afternoon she'd been worried that she'd forgotten it at home. All afternoon she kept checking her bag to make sure it was still tucked aside near her keys and after they'd changed for dinner, she made sure the ring was safely tucked into the front right pocket and hoped that for whatever reason, she wouldn't lose it or that Faith wouldn't notice it before she was ready.

She'd been waiting all day, having decided that morning she would wait until they were back in the Jeep after dinner before she asked her. She didn't have a speech prepared and she had no idea what she was going to say, but she did know that whatever she did end up saying would come straight from the heart, that it'd be honest and real and probably end with tears of happiness.

"Faith?" Buffy asked as she climbed into the drivers seat and shut the door.

"What's up, B?"

Buffy took a deep breath and reached for Faith's hand. She smiled as Faith leaned in and kissed her lightly before sitting back and just staring at her. "The first time I kissed you, I knew I could fall in love with you and that we'd have something so great together, you know?"

"Buffy, what are you—"

"The first time we made love, I'd never felt anything like that with anyone else before," Buffy continued. "We have a life together and it's perfect in its own way. But there's something missing."

"What's that, B?"

Buffy shakily opened her hand that held the ring, the small diamond glittering in the light coming in from the streetlight nearby. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Faith. You're my everything and I can't, no—I _won't_ want to live without you by my side every day."

"Buffy, are you for real?" Faith whispered, her voice shaky as Buffy reached for her left hand. "B? You want to marry me?"

"Hey, I thought I was the one asking you?" Buffy laughed and Faith surged forward and kissed her hard. "Will you marry me and be my wife, Faith?"

"Yes," Faith smiled as a few happy tears rolled down her cheeks. "Yes, a thousand times yes."

They were kissing and laughing and crying and Buffy still held the ring in her hand. It took them a few minutes before Buffy finally got the ring on her finger and they were right back to kissing each other, becoming completely lost in the best moment of the day and of both their lives.

"It's crazy," Faith laughed as she shook her head. "This is crazy, B."

"The craziest."

"No," she laughed again. "It's crazy cos when we got home I was gonna ask you to marry me. I was too afraid to bring the ring with me today, thinking I'd lose it or something, yknow?"

"Faith…are you serious?"

"Never been more serious in my life, B. I love you, more than anything else in the world so of course I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

Buffy pulled her in for another kiss and sighed happily as they just lost themselves in each other, more so than ever before. Faith pulled back first and smiled at her once more before she slid the key into the ignition and started the Jeep. She reached over for Buffy's hand as she pulled out of the parking spot and headed for the lot exit.

The drive home was a long one since they were downtown and it was busy since it was a Friday night. Faith cruised down the busy street and when she came to a stop at the red light, she turned on the radio but kept the volume low, humming along to the song that was playing. As the light turned green, Faith hit the gas and drummed her fingers against the steering wheel. Buffy couldn't stop smiling nor could she stop looking at Faith, watching her as she hummed along to the song, one she wasn't familiar with herself.

As the song came to an end, another came on and she could see Faith's eyes light up. One of her favorite songs, Wake Me Up When September Ends by Green Day was playing and without having to be asked, Buffy turned the volume up for her. She sang along instead of humming and Buffy felt mesmerized by watching Faith lose herself in the lyrics, in the song itself.

_Here comes the rain again_

_Falling from the stars_

_Drenched in my pain again_

_Becoming who we are_

"Faith! Watch out!" Buffy screamed as they crossed the intersection, the car coming from the other side coming too fast and ran straight through the red light, headed straight for them.

It all happened too fast. In the blink of an eye. No way out, no way to stop, to turn, to go faster to get out of the way. The sound of the squealing tires, the bang as the car hit them was louder than a single gunshot. The sound of metal scraping over the pavement as the Jeep rolled over had Buffy's ears ringing. She held on to Faith's hand for as long as she could, but the force of the Jeep rolling on the pavement violently jerked them apart.

Everything felt blurry, her vision swimming as the Jeep finally came to a stop. The sound of broken class falling to the pavement sounded louder than the bang. As the Jeep settled, Buffy's heart was racing wildly out of control and for a moment, everything was silent, a moment in time where everything felt as if it had come to a complete stop. Just for a moment. The sound of the dying engine rumbling and she swore she could hear the wheels still turning, slowly coming to a complete stop in all the chaos and confusion.

"Faith?" She cried out weakly, finding her voice, only just.

Silence, nothing but silence as panic settled in, panic and fear. What had just happened? Did it actually happen? Her mind flickered back to moments ago, or had it been just seconds ago? The sound of the speeding car hitting the Jeep, the scraping of metal as the Jeep rolled over and over again. She blinked and groaned as she turned to look at Faith, and nothing could've prepared her for the sight that she saw.

Bloody, blood on her face, blood pouring from a gaping wound on her forehead, her eyes closed and her hand that was on the wheel when they were hit still gripped it tightly. Her heart started racing harder, faster. The hand she'd been holding when the car struck them, it dangled towards the ground, swaying slightly as everything came to a complete standstill.

As the sounds began to come back to her, she tried to focus, but she was disoriented and her right leg was pinned under the dashboard where it had bent down against her. She was hanging upside down and she felt as if her heart was about to leap from her chest. She could hear her heart thumping loudly and she was too shaken up to try to get herself free from the seatbelt. Instead, she grabbed on to the straps that dug into her chest and held on, weakly. She was scared. Hurt. And her head was pounding, the ringing in her ears too loud, far too loud.

"Faith?"

Her voice sounded so distant as she blinked and turned again to look at Faith beside her. She didn't answer her. Why wasn't she answering her?

"Faith?" Buffy tried again, the ringing in her ears lessoning, the sounds of people nearby screaming to get help and the footsteps hitting the ground, running towards the Jeep. "Faith? Baby?"

Panic filled her as her eyes filled with hot tears. Sirens. She could hear sirens, but they were still too far. A sound of a woman screaming outside made her swallow the lump in her throat as she shakily reached out to touch Faith.

"Faith, wake up, please," she whispered, her hand shaking as she touched Faith's bloody cheek. "Baby, please…"

More sounds and nothing but silence from Faith. The beeping of the Jeep indicating the hood was open got louder and louder and Buffy trembled as she stroked her fingers over Faith's face, willing her to wake up, thinking she was just knocked out from her head hitting the window or maybe the steering wheel, which would explain the cut on her forehead.

"Faith?"

Sirens, they were louder now. Closer. Buffy shook her head and groaned in pain as both hands went to her right thigh. Broken, definitely broken and crushed. Tears spilled from her eyes as she turned to look at Faith again, still unmoving, the blood from the gaping wound on her forehead steadily bleeding.

"Faith?"

More sirens. Much closer now. She could faintly hear a crowd of people gathered around, some trying to help the driver of the other car, someone shouting that his car was on fire and to get him out now. More panic filled her as she gripped at the seatbelt and tried to breathe, her breath coming out in rapid bursts as she failed to remain calm.

"What about us?" Buffy whispered, her voice cracking as she reached out to touch Faith again. She felt clammy. Not warm. Just clammy. "What about us?" She said again, louder. "Help us! Please!"

Everything started to get fuzzy again and she reached up to tenderly touch over the bump on the right side of her head. She felt sick. Her leg, the pain was too much. And Faith. Why wouldn't she wake up?

She closed her eyes, her strength weaning. A voice, a man's voice, calling out to her, asking her if she was okay. She shook her head no, unable to find her voice again. She heard a hydraulic hiss. The jaws of life. As the minutes ticked by, she opened her eyes again and forced herself to look over at Faith. Still unmoving, the blood dripping from the wound on her forehead..

"Faith…" Buffy called out weakly. "Faith…please…wake up…"

"Ma'am?" Another voice. Not Faith's. "Ma'am, we're going to get you out."

"Faith…help her…she won't wake up…"

"Ma'am, try to stay calm. We're working as fast as we can. We'll help you. We'll help her. Just remain calm."

More sirens, more footsteps, more people chattering outside as they watched the horrific scene unfold in front of them.

"Faith," she whispered, her heart tightening the longer she went without answering her. "Please…"

Hands reaching inside where the mangled door was cut away. Hands placing a neck brace over her neck. Hands reaching to check her pulse. Blankets put over sharp edges as a paramedic crawled into the back behind Faith, trying to get a response from her. She watched as a neck brace was placed over Faith's neck, the paramedic continuing to try to get a response from her. Voices, faded voices, asking questions and all she could do was keep her eyes on Faith, watching and waiting for her to wake up. For her to open her eyes and ask what the hell had just happened. For her to swear she'll kill the guy who crashed her Jeep, her pride and joy.

"Why isn't she waking up?"

"Get the stretcher in here, Joe!" The paramedic checking her over yelled out over his shoulder. "We'll have to set her leg before transport."

The paramedic behind Faith checked her pulse, her arms were dangling lifelessly now, the hand that had been gripping on to the steering wheel pulled away. Buffy tried to breathe, but everything felt too heavy, a weight crushing her down.

Everything began to spin as she heard the plastic board being slid into the Jeep, glass crunching underneath as it was placed under her. Hands reaching again, two sets, one on her mangled leg, the other reaching for the seatbelt. A third set of hands, grabbing her carefully and lowering her body down on to the stretcher.

Her leg was shooting full of red hot pain and she screamed out as she was laid on the ground a few feet from the Jeep. Her heart, still racing hard, tears still filling her eyes, never-ending and falling steadily. She turned her head to look at the Jeep. It made her breath catch in her throat. How had they survived that?

She tried to see what they were doing with Faith, but the paramedics that were inside the Jeep trying to retrieve her only blocked her view. She couldn't see. She didn't know what was happening. Her head spun as she turned her eyes up to the sky, the stars invisible in the lights of the city. She turned to take in the sights around her, the paramedics, the firefighters who had cut open the mangled door, the police officers keeping curious and concerned bystanders away from the scene itself. She inhaled sharply, trying hard not to feel the pain was her leg was set with a splint, the straps feeling like they were digging in and when she looked down, saw that they really weren't.

She looked back over at the Jeep and then at the car that hit them about ten feet away, firefighters putting out the fire that started in the engine, more paramedics attending to the man that had been behind the wheel and she watched as they placed him on a stretcher and pulled a white sheet over his body completely. Dead. He was dead.

"We have a DOA over here," one of the paramedics shouted out to the ones that were working to check over Buffy and to set her broken leg before they placed her on the stretcher.

"…DOA?" Buffy whispered and she looked at the paramedic that was checking her blood pressure. "Dead on arrival?"

"Is there someone we can call? We need to take you to the hospital. Your leg, it's severely broken and you'll need to have emergency surgery to repair the damage."

"My phone…it's…"

"A number, ma'am?" He asked again, remaining patient as he took the blood pressure cuff off her arm. "Can you remember a number of someone to call?"

"I…"

Light. Shining brightly in her tear filled eyes. "Pupils indicate there's been some head trauma," he said as he flashed the light in and out of her eyes. "Ma'am, can you hear me?"

"Yes," she whispered and she turned her head to the side to watch as two other paramedics rose from the drivers side.

"On three," the man said as two others helped him lift her up on the stretcher.

"Faith…" Buffy trembled as she saw the stretcher she was on, the white sheet covering her entire body. "Oh god…Faith…"

"Ma'am, what's your name?"

She didn't answer, she just kept her eyes on the stretcher that Faith was on, watching as it was wheeled to the other waiting ambulance. As they lifted the stretcher into the back, her left hand slipped out from under the sheets, blood dripping from her fingertips and over the ring she'd given to her not even ten minutes ago. Had it only just been ten minutes ago? Longer? Less?

"Ma'am, please, what is your name?" The paramedic tried again as he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Buffy," she said quietly, barely able to talk through the tears and the grief that hit her hard. "Buffy Summers."

He said something to the other paramedic as they lifted her into the waiting ambulance. She didn't pay attention to a word he said, only listening to the sound of her heart breaking over and over again.

"It was supposed to be a perfect day," she whispered. "It was a perfect day and now it's not."

"Joe? Call ahead to Cleveland General, tell them we have two females, one DOA the other in need of emergency surgery and one male, also DOA."

"What?" The fear and panic and pain rose in Buffy rapidly as she tried to sit up, the paramedic trying to keep her still. She shook her head and sobbed, not giving up on trying to get up from the stretcher, broken leg or not. After a few minutes, she finally gave up, collapsing back on the stretcher as the paramedic laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I'm the only one that survived?"

"Afraid so, ma'am," he said with a frown as the back doors shut loudly, bringing back the ringing in her ears, worse than before. "So sorry for your loss…"

She was fading and her heart kept on breaking. The edges of her vision blurred, from the tears, from everything. The last thing she heard was the sirens as the ambulance raced down the street and the last thought on her mind was of Faith and what should've been a perfect end to a perfect day…

* * *

(_Three days later…_)

"Buffy?"

Buffy sat in the rented wheelchair and stared at herself in the mirror on the back of the bedroom door. It shook as Dawn knocked on the door, calling out her name.

Three days, two of them spent in the hospital recovering from the surgery that put her mangled bones back in place. Pins and screws and other things. Three days without her by her side. Three days of constant heartbreak and today was the day she would say goodbye.

She couldn't forget the sound of Angel crying when she finally called him, just hours after she got out of surgery. It was devastating and it set off her own tears. They spent just over an hour on the phone, just crying together, talking about Faith and the perfect day the two had been having, how Buffy had asked her to marry her. Angel said he wished she could've had it all, that he could imagine what a beautiful ceremony it would've been and how he would've loved to be the one that gave Faith away to her. And when Angel had asked her what killed her, she didn't know what to say because she didn't know. She didn't. It wasn't until a police officer, a woman not much older than her, came to talk to her later that morning.

_"__I was told to come speak with you."_

_"__Why? About what?"_

_"__About your partner, Faith," she had said as she frowned sympathetically down at Buffy who lay in her bed, feeling so small, so lost, so alone. "It was instant."_

_"__What was?"_

_"__Her death," she replied quietly and she looked over at Dawn who was sitting by the window, listening but not looking anywhere but outside as the rain poured down from the sky. "Her neck was broken. It was instant. She didn't suffer. Your uh, father requested a copy of the autopsy report and asked that I come and break the news to you. I was the first responding officer to the scene. A drunk driver ran a red light, hitting your vehicle."_

_"__I…"_

_"__I'm sorry for your loss, Ms. Summers."_

_"__No…it's not true…it can't be…she's in another room, she's fine. She's fine, isn't she?"_

_"__Buffy—" Dawn tried but Buffy cried out Faith's name, sobbing as the police officer nodded a goodbye and left the room. "Buffy, she's gone. Faith is gone. She's…dead."_

_"__No…" Buffy shook her head and she pushed Dawn away when she tried to hug her. Anger and grief took over and she felt like she couldn't breathe. "She can't be, Dawnie. She can't! No! Please, please just tell me it's not true. Tell me it's just a bad dream. Tell me that when I wake up it'll all just have been a bad dream…"_

"Buffy, are you ready?" Dawn asked tentatively as she opened the door slowly. She frowned when she looked down at Buffy, her eyes red from crying, but dry now since she had no tears left in her. "Uh, Xander just got here. We're all ready to go, uh, when you are."

"Okay," she answered in a small voice.

"Is there anything you need before we go, Buffy?"

Buffy shook her head no as she glanced down at her hands in her lap and the ring, the ring she found in the little blue box under Faith's socks. The ring Faith was going to give to her when they got home. The ring she only had the strength to look for just an hour before.

"No, no. I'm ready."

Three days of nightmares, the crash replaying over and over in her head, even when she was awake. Those last moments, the last perfectly happy moments, crushed in an instant and took Faith away from her forever.

They were supposed to be together forever. That was the plan. It was what they both wanted. They were supposed to live a long and happy life together, get married and just live.

Now she'd never have that life back. She'd begged Willow to try and find a way to take her back to that night, to get Faith to stay in the parking lot just for a minute or two more. She'd begged Willow to find a way, a spell, anything and there was nothing she could do. There was nothing anybody could do…

"That's a nice ring, Buffy," Dawn said with a small smile. "Is it new?"

"Yes," she nodded, a few tears falling, tears she thought had dried up by now. "It—Faith, she—she was going to give it to me when we—we got home and—"

Dawn leaned down to hug her tightly. Buffy felt the hot tears as they hit her shoulder and Dawn slowly backed away. "I'm sorry, Buffy. I wish there was something we could do to bring her back."

"Hey, you guys ready?" Xander called out from the front door. "Left the motor running in the van, so we should get going."

Buffy closed her eyes as Dawn wheeled her out of the bedroom. Faith had stated before she didn't want a fancy funeral when her time came, just to have a small service at the cemetery before they buried her. That is where they were going, to the cemetery. For Faith's funeral.

"Hey, Buff," Xander said quietly as she opened her eyes and looked up at him. "Are you ready to go?"

She wanted to say no, that she wasn't ready to say goodbye one last time to the love of her life. How could anyone be ready for something like that? With a small nod of her head, Dawn pushed her out into the hallway while Xander locked the door behind him.

They were quiet as they approached the elevator and Buffy jabbed the button hard, feeling like her insides were being torn apart all over again. Every minute that passed, it hurt more and more. The ache. The ache that settled deep inside her heart and soul.

As Dawn wheeled her outside into the fresh air, the first time she'd been out since she returned home yesterday afternoon. The sun, it shone brightly and was warm against her skin. It felt wrong, a perfect sunny summer day. Everything about it felt wrong. She inhaled sharply as Xander helped her into the van, careful not to knock her leg against anything as she slid into the seat.

She exhaled sharply as Dawn helped her get her seatbelt on and she didn't have the strength to tell her off, to tell her she didn't need help with every little thing. She barely even had the strength just to keep thinking about anything other than Faith.

The ride to the cemetery was silent and short. Tears bristled in her eyes as Xander came to a stop and he and Dawn hopped out of the van. Once they had the wheelchair out from the back, Xander helped Buffy get back in and she saw that he too was fighting back his own tears. The walk across the cemetery too long as Xander pushed her over the grass, the ground still soft and damp from the rain they'd had the night before.

They were the last to arrive and Buffy could hardly hold back the tears as she spotted the dark mahogany casket sitting by the open grave. The lid was open and from where she was, she couldn't see her. Not yet. Giles and Willow stood by the casket, both crying softly as they had an arm around each other. Kennedy stood off to the side, her face stone cold, expressionless. Her arms opened as Willow walked over to her and she held her close, held her tight.

"Buffy, do you…want to go see her and say goodbye?" Dawn asked quietly and all she could do was nod her head yes when her heart was screaming no inside.

Xander wheeled her around the open grave and in front of the casket. Buffy had her eyes closed until she felt the chair come to a stop. This was it. This was goodbye. This would be the last time she ever looked at Faith that wasn't a picture or a video or in her dreams, night after night.

"Let's give her a moment," Dawn said to Xander and Buffy turned and opened her eyes, watching as they walked away to join the others.

Hands shaking, Buffy turned to look at Faith, lying peacefully inside the casket. The gash on her head was stitched up, her bloody face and hair clean. Her makeup done subtly and the dress, the red dress Buffy had told Dawn to get, looked as perfect on her as the day she bought it and wore it. Their first anniversary and the only other time that Buffy could convince her to wear a dress.

"I can't believe this is happening," she whispered under her breath as her hand reached out to gently touch Faith's cold, smooth face. "I can't believe you're gone. It wasn't supposed to be this way, baby. We were going to get married and spend the rest of our lives together, living every day like it was a perfect day."

She closed her eyes when she heard Dawn and Willow crying behind her. Hot tears rolled down her cheeks as she kept her hand firmly on Faith. Blinking away her tears, she moved her hand and placed it over Faith's hands that were folded over on her chest, the ring gleaming in the bright sunlight.

"I found it, the ring you were going to give me when you were going to ask me to marry you. I found it under a pair of ratty, torn socks, the same socks I tried to throw out a hundred times and somehow they always ended up back in your drawer. Remember that fight we had over them? A stupid pair of socks."

Buffy didn't want to stop touching her, even as cold and lifeless as her body felt. She wanted to keep touching her for as long as she could because this was the last time. The very last time.

"It's beautiful, Faith. The ring is so beautiful, so perfect. But then again, you knew that when you bought it, didn't you? You knew how much I'd love it, how perfect it'd fit," she said softly, almost expecting Faith to answer her when she knew she never would again. "I don't want to say goodbye. I can't. It hurts too much, Faith. It hurts too much not having you here with me. How am I going to live the rest of my life without you by my side?"

Another shake of her head as she looked down at the love of her life. Gone. Dead. Cold. She remembered then the words that Angel had said to her, when he asked her to say goodbye to her for him.

"I've never heard Angel cry before, you know? Can you imagine that? Angel crying?" She laughed softly. "He told me to tell you that he's going to miss you, that he loves you, that he was proud of you. He was so proud of you, Faith. So proud of how far you'd come, the things you've done, and he said he was so happy we'd finally found each other because he knew. He knew how happy I made you. God, Faith. I need you here with me. We all need you. All of us. Why do I feel so selfish wishing that it was me instead of you? We should've stayed, just a minute or two more. We should've gone dancing instead of choosing to go home. We should've just…"

A warm hand fell upon her shoulder. Giles. She shuddered as she inhaled sharply and pulled her hand away from Faith's. She shook her head as the tears streamed down her cheeks and Giles leaned down to hug her, to comfort her.

"I can't believe she's gone, Giles."

"I know, Buffy. I know."

"She's really gone."

She didn't want to let go of Giles, not yet. She needed that comfort, she needed warmth. She needed to feel alive when inside she felt like she was dying. Giles sighed as he backed away from Buffy slowly and he pulled out a soft silk handkerchief and handed it to her. She wiped at the tears, but it was useless. They just kept on coming. Tears she thought had dried up after three days of crying.

"Now is the time to say a few words," Giles said to the others. "Shall I start?"

Buffy only nodded as the others gathered around them. Giles moved to stand in front of the casket, facing all of them. He was physically torn, as heartbroken as the rest. Buffy could barely look at him, her eyes focused solely on Faith's face.

She didn't hear the words he said, but she knew they were lovely. Everything felt so blurry, so fuzzy, and the ringing in her ears had come back and she swore, just for the faintest of moments, she could hear the radio playing, Faith singing, just like it had been in those few moments before that car struck them.

One by one, everyone shared a few words about Faith, celebrating her life, praising the woman she'd become and how she'd become family and would always be family. Buffy was last, but she didn't know what to say. What could she say?

"You don't have to say anything if you…don't want to," Dawn said softly and Buffy shook her head no.

"I have to, I—she was everything to me…" She trailed off as Dawn pushed the chair so she was facing the others. "I don't know where to start, what to say. I loved Faith more than anything and three days ago, I asked her to marry me before she was taken from me. Why? Why her? We were—we were supposed to be together forever and now she's gone. She's just gone. I never got to say goodbye."

She couldn't stand to look at the faces of her friends, her family as they cried with her. She swallowed hard as she turned to look down at Faith and she had to blink away her tears hard as she saw two cemetery workers approaching the open grave.

"No," she trembled. "Not yet. It's too soon. It's too soon."

"Buffy…it's time," Dawn said gently as she reached out for her. Buffy swatted her hand away and placed her hand on Faith's cheek.

"I don't want to say goodbye, Faith. I don't."

Frowning as the workers got closer, she rose from the chair, wincing as she tried to keep the weight off her right leg. She took in Faith's features, wishing she could see her smile again one last time.

"I don't want to say goodbye," she whispered. "I love you, Faith Lehane. I love you so much." She leaned down and placed a kiss on her lips, the last kiss. "Goodbye, Faith."

She sat back down in the chair, tears rolling down her cheeks and Dawn pulled her away from the casket. She could only watch, her ears ringing, her vision blurry, as Giles stepped forward and closed the lid to the casket but not before placing Faith's favorite knife inside with her. She watched as he walked over to the two workers and had a few words with them before he moved away to let them do their job of setting the casket over the open grave and slowly lowering it down.

It was Willow who reached for her hand as they watched it being lowered deep into the ground and Buffy looked up at her with a sad smile upon her face. The workers stepped back, both removing their baseball hats as Giles stepped forward and recited a small prayer in Latin, a prayer of protection and for her soul to find it's way to the Heaven's above.

There was nothing but silence, even the wind died down and stopped rustling through the leaves in the trees and the birds quieted, their happy songs lost in the silence that surrounded the open grave.

Buffy's heart sank as the wind picked up again and the birds began to sing once more. Willow let go of her hand and she knew they were talking, asking her questions, but she didn't heard them. Couldn't. Not over the ringing in her ears and the last words she heard Faith say. Lyrics to a song, one she'd never be able to listen to again because it would just bring back the reminder that her lover died while it played on the radio and she sang along. A song with meaning of death, right in the moment a life was taken from this world.

"Buffy?" Dawn's voice came through and she blinked as she stared up at her blankly. "We're going to uh, go home."

"I want to stay a little while longer," she whispered. "I'm not ready to go yet."

"Okay, you can stay. We'll uh, we'll go wait in the van. Just wave when you're ready and we'll come and get you, okay?"

"Okay," her voice quiet and distant as she kept her eyes on the open grave in front of her.

One by one, she received hugs from her friends, her family. Willow being the last and whispered words of hope, encouragement into her ear.

"Wherever she is, Buffy, she'll always be in the one place it matters the most. Your heart. She'll never forget you and we'll never forget her either. Wherever she is, she is waiting for you, waiting for the day you'll be together again. Never forget that she'll always be with you."

"Thank you, Will," Buffy smiled sadly. "Thank you."

She watched as they all walked away, back to their cars. One by one the left and the only ones who stayed was Dawn and Xander, both standing by the side of the van, waiting for her to give them the signal that she was ready.

"I don't want to leave you yet, Faith. I can't," she whispered as she twisted the engagement ring on her finger. "I don't think I'll ever be able to love someone the way that I loved you. How could I ever find someone so perfect for me the way that you were? We wasted so much time, didn't we? Years of fighting, years of avoiding each other until we finally found each other again. We wasted so much time because we were so stupid, so stubborn, weren't we?"

Sighing heavily she wiped away her tears and waved at Dawn. She just needed that moment alone, without the others. As Dawn approached, the workers started to fill in the open grave, both with somber, sad looks on their faces as they glanced briefly in her direction.

"You sure you're ready now?"

"Yes." No. "Let's go home, Dawnie."

Home. Without Faith. It would never be the same and she would never have another perfect day again. Every day would just be another ordinary day, filled with heartbreak and sadness and grief.

And every day would be just another reminder that she wouldn't have her happy ending, she wouldn't marry the woman she loved with all her heart and all her soul.

Every day would be a reminder that she would spend the rest of her life, alone and without her other half. Her soulmate, gone in an instant on what was one of the happiest days of their lives…an almost perfect day.

**The End**


End file.
